Items

• 
  2021-03-01

  Skeptic's flawed analysis of pandemics over a century using data that ignores population growth and globalization.

  The attached image was used as evidence in an article for pandemic skeptics to make a "realistic risk assessment" of their danger during the COVID-19 pandemic in an article originally published in March 2021. The image utilizes only the mortality rate of England and Wales over the last century to visually "show" that COVID-19 is just a "blip" on the map. They are seemingly hinting through an image that this pandemic is fake news compared to world wars or influenza, using data to propagandize skepticism. What is misleading about this data is that they are using numbers of today against nearly one hundred years ago and are not contextualizing the numbers at all. At first glance one can see the overall mortality rate is going down. Of course, this is due to improved science, sanitization, water, and medicine over this time period. We must not also forget that this rate has gone down because the number of people in England and Wales, as in all life on our Earth, has increased. Like all math problems, the larger the denominator the small the rate. For example, if 100 people died out of a population of 1,000, the mortality rate is 10% (100/1000x100). But, if 100 people died in a population of 10,000, the mortality rate is only 1 percent (100/10000x100). Trying to compare numbers in a situation where the world population is much different and globalized, is not an equal comparison. I believe this is misleading persuasive propaganda that skeptics used to make COVID look like not a big deal. However, the risk factors have much more to do with your age, location, health history, interaction with other people, and how your surrounding areas respond to a pandemic, none of which is contextualized in this vague graph.
• 
  2022-05-11

  Fact Checkers

  This is an Instagram post by covid_antivax. This post is in criticism of social media removing posts deemed "misinformation" about COVID and the vaccine. The tags from this user, like #depopulation, suggest that the goal of COVID and the vaccines is to reduce the population size. The censoring of information regarding the virus and the vaccine has been troublesome for myself. I do not think it is the right of social media to dictate what can and cannot be said, barring anything illegal, like death threats. I think it is a dangerous trajectory when these multinational companies start deciding what governing bodies and people should think. It brings into question people's actual rights to speech. People should have the right to voice their opinion on subjects like this. If people are prevented from speaking out as much on social media, they will get driven to more niche websites and forums to discuss things, which in turn help create more echo chambers. The great thing about free speech is the ability to bounce ideas off with other people and be given the opportunity to decide for myself what is right with more information available. Taking this away will make it harder to really test ideas and make them more refined. This is more my criticism of social media in general, but the talk on the virus and the vaccines has noticeably made it worse for any side to reconcile.
• 
  2022-05-12

  Baby Formula Shortage

  This is an Instagram post by shanti.mikel. This post is on a conspiracy that the baby formula shortage is being used by Bill Gates to promote artificial breast milk technology. Connected to this theory is Pfizer advising people to not breast feed. I would be curious to know what the vaccine's impact would be on breast feeding in the future, as mRNA vaccines like the one Pfizer has produced are going to be used to treat other diseases. The claim that breast feeding is not recommended with COVID vaccines originated in Britain's medicines regulator, not Pfizer, according to Reuters. In order to give more context to this post, I have posted the story by Reuters as well, for those interested in reading. For me personally, I still don't think all the side-effects from the vaccines will be known for a while, as I have had a hard time getting information on the vaccines that has not come across as highly partisan for one group or the other. The evidence I rely on is mostly anecdotal from people that have received the vaccines, in addition to the reasoning of people that did not get them. For the people in my immediate circle, I have not seen any ill health effects from the vaccines so far, but I am also unsure how effective the vaccines are in the long run if some of those same people still get COVID anyway. It is hard to tell if the vaccine is making the COVID cases more mild, or if the virus has just mutated enough to where it is less deadly. It could be a mixture of both. All of it is hard for me to really be sure about either side because I feel like I am only getting partial truth from both.
• 
  2021-09-30

  For Marc, Another Needless Covid Fatality

  I feel bad that my mom's boyfriend died back in September, but he was also an idiot who did it to himself. I have complicated feelings here and I hope they're worth sharing.
• 
  2022-04-19

  GB Oral History, 2022/04/19

  The interviewee discusses vaccine hesitancy and life during the pandemic without having received the vaccine.
• 
  2022-03-31

  HERMIT HERALD, ISSUE 139

  Putin's invasion of Ukraine analogous to "The Walrus and the Carpenter"
• 
  2022-03-11

  High Anxiety: Poll Finds Americans Stressed by Inflation, War

  This is a news story from Health Day by Robert Preidt. This is about a poll on what is making Americans most anxious. War, COVID-19, and inflation are at the top of what is making Americans feel anxious. Another thing the poll tells is that 63% percent said their lives changed forever due to COVID-19. 47% of people that took this poll also said that they have become less active compared to pre-pandemic. 58% said they had unwanted weight changes. Among those that gained more weight than they wanted, the average weight gain reported was 26 pounds. Others have said that the separation from others has put strain on relationships, or ended them. The APA reports that those with reduced social support are more likely to cope with stress. 56% say they could have used more emotional support during the pandemic. This poll had 3,012 respondents in February, and 2,051 from March 1-3.
• 
  2022-01-21

  School Apologizes After Viral Photo Of Teacher Taping Mask To Student's Face Outrages Parents

  This is a news story from Your Tango by Nia Tipton. This is about a middle school in Pennsylvania, where a video of a teacher taping a mask to a student caused outrage. The photo was taken at Pennfield Middle School in Hatfield. The photo went viral and appeared on Sean Hannity's website. The middle school announced that they are going to conduct an investigation over this scandal. Parents also expressed their anger at school board meetings over this. The mother of the student getting his mask taped to his face says that she never intended for the story to go viral. She used the photo to gain support from a Facebook group prior to a school board meeting. She says that other individuals in the group took it upon themselves to spread this story further.
• 
  2022-02-17

  Elon Musk Compares Justin Trudeau To Hitler In Bizarre Response To Canadian Trucker Protests

  This is a news story from Your Tango by Isaac Serna-Diez. This is about a Twitter rant, where Elon Musk, owner of Tesla, compares Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Adolf Hitler over the Canadian Trucker Protests. In January, both the United States and Canada imposed vaccine mandates. According to the American Trucking Association, only 50-60% of all truckers are vaccinated. The truckers have created a convoy that blocks traffic across the US-Canada border in response to the mandates. Trudeau's response to this was to invoke the Emergencies Act, which has't been used since 1988. The Emergencies Act allows for freezing of bank accounts and funds in order to take money away from those protesting. These freezes would also impact things like GoFundMe and the ability to raise funds from that site. It also allows for military involvement, but Trudeau says that he has no plans of doing so. Musk's response to what Trudeau imposed economically on protesters prompted him to promote cryptocurrency more.
• 
  2022-03-08

  Florida Will Urge Parents Not To Vaccinate ‘Healthy’ Kids, Going Against CDC Advice

  This is a news story from Scary Mommy, written by Lauren Levy. This story deals with Florida's position on vaccinating children and going against CDC guidelines. The author, Levy, is very against this and thinks it is irresponsible to be contrary to what the CDC suggests, claiming that it will make things more dangerous for kids if they don't take the vaccine. Some have been raising concerns that people are taking politicians words over those of doctors. Opponents have reminded parents that this is just a suggestion from Florida politicians, and not a mandate, meaning that they can discern for themselves if the vaccine is right for their kids. Ultimately, Levy believes parents should ignore what Florida politicians say and listen to doctors instead on what to do.
• 
  2022-03-07

  There’s A ‘Vibe Shift’ On Reddit—People Are Sharing Heartfelt Stories Of Loneliness And Isolation Due To The Pandemic And Working From Home

  This is a news story from Forbes by Jack Kelly. This story is about loneliness felt from isolation that people are discussing on Reddit. Subreddits like r/antiwork and r/wallstreetbets, a lot of these conversations are sharing details about their feelings they might not want to share elsewhere. Since Reddit allows people to submit anonymously, it gives others an environment they can give more details on subjects they maybe wouldn't tell to even their family members. Some of these discussions are about those that are single and work from home, which creates a very solitary experience. One woman, 27, on Reddit describes trying to join Facebook groups and do online dating to have more interaction during the pandemic. She says she felt a slight panic seeing her other friends get married, have kids, or engaged, which made her feel even lonelier. Others describe the challenges with finding remote work and needing support to help cope with that hardship. The lack of socialization has had massive effect on young adults just starting out in life, and it has given some worse mental health as a result. While some might thrive with being alone, others have suffered. Another woman, 32, says that prior to the pandemic, she was a 'social butterfly' and outgoing, but is now antisocial and a shut-in. She says that she lacks the motivation to go places like she used to. In addition to this, her place of employment is considering permanent work-from-home for employees, making some of those social struggles even worse. Some Redditors ended up giving advice for people that shared stories like these, such as smiling every day towards someone, or going outside for 15 minutes or longer. Simple things like this were common suggestions to help with some people's mental health issues induced because of the pandemic isolation. I think that this story helps show some of the negative effects young people have had with readjusting their entire lives, and then feeling lost once they get too used to it when things are starting to go back to "normal."
• 
  2022-03-30

  Trudeau warns of 'difficult time,' food shortages due to Covid-19

  This is a news story from the Business Standard. This is about the after effects of COVID on the Canadian population. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warns that it will be a difficult time with food shortages due to COVID. Some of the blame for the food shortages is also placed on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Similar tactics of blaming President Vladimir Putin for the rising prices of goods has also been used by President Joe Biden. The global disruption of supply chains results in higher prices of necessities. Earlier in March, the Canadian government announced that the economy fell short of its anticipated growth for that month. In February, inflation in Canada rose by 5.7%, the highest increase since August 1991.
• 
  2022-03-26

  Russia spread anti-vax lies in Ukraine. Will it cause a COVID crisis for Europe?

  This is a news story from the Los Angeles Times by Melissa Healy and Emily Baumgaertner. The authors claim that even prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine that Russia has been working to undermine the confidence of Western vaccines. It says that these messages were encouraged by President Vladimir Putin and shown on Russian TV and social media. In Ukraine, only 35% of residents are fully vaccinated, some of the lowest in all of Europe. This makes the refugee crisis in Ukraine more dire, as people needing to leave will risk spreading COVID more places. The authors assert that with the low vaccination rates of Ukrainian refugees that it will cause another surge in COVID cases throughout Europe. The CDC has advised countries accepting refugees to offer them the vaccine upon entry. This article details that this is not the only vaccine that Ukrainians have not accepted as much compared to the rest of Europe. In 2021, only 53% of Ukrainian babies were vaccinated against polio. That number has now risen to 76% of infants being immunized against polio. Though, the likelihood of these diseases spreading as far as COVID are fairly low. The vaccine hesitancy, the authors say, is rooted in deep distrust of the government. In December 2020, only 14% of Ukrainians reported having trust in their government in a poll.
• 
  2022-03-26

  Coping with the Pandemic--A Personal Look at Mental Health and COVID-19

  According to the Center of Disease Control, in June of 2022, US adults reported considerably elevated adverse mental health conditions associated with COVID-19. Out of a survey they did on 5,412 people, 40.9 percent of respondents reported at least one adverse mental or behavioral health conditions, including symptoms of anxiety and depressive disorder which were around 31 percent. One of the causes of this is due to increase sedentary behaviors and low levels of physical activity due to quarantines and lack of business operation. Over the past two years, government mandated quarantine, work from home, and online schooling has caused me to stay at home for longer periods of time than what I use to. Because of this sedentary behavior, I had dealt with the negative effects of isolation, stress, and anxiety on both my mental and physical health. According to the World Health Organization, 150 minutes of moderate exercise or physical activity is usually recommended per week, however, with working a full-time job and being in school, the question that remains is how that is possible? I have learned to accommodate these physical needs indoors, by taking active breaks during the day and exercising at home. While this does not necessarily help with isolation and loneliness sometimes, I have learned to take these matters one day at a time and not shun myself for feelings them. CDC argues that from a recent comprehensive review that the impact of COVID-19 on mental health particularly seems to affect more young women disproportionally than any other group. Therefore, I recommend any young adult or women facing severe mental health to take advantage of online support or mental health services through telehealth such as ZocDoc. It is important to highlight COVID-19's impact on mental health in the United States and my personal life because it shows how the pandemic changed the means and the ways we received mental health services in the past. As the pandemic ventures on, people like myself will continue to have to find ways to cope and receive services for our problems. Thanks to the pandemic, much of our mental health problems have come more to the forefront due to us having ample amounts of time now to navigate and deal these issues unlike never before.
• 
  2022-03-26

  Locked In and Locked Down: Surviving COVID-19 in FCI Edgefield BOP

  The COVID-19 crisis has impacted mass incarcerated facilities at an exceeding rate, exacerbating existing staffing shortage and leaving those housed in large numbers increasingly vulnerable to COVID-19. The Federal Correctional Institution in Edgefield, South Carolina is no exception to this hardship. FCI Edgefield has be forced to expand its use of a practice called "augmentation" or allowing those in non-correctional roles at the prison to work in correctional officer roles. This is because staff members are getting sick an exceedingly high rate, causing some staff to have quarantine for several days while others have chosen to retire early out of the fear of high exposure and incentives losing way due to the crisis. Since the pandemic has taken off, only a small number of inmates have died from COVID-19, about 50 in total. Yet, due to less experienced staff on site due to shortages, one inmate died due to undermined symptoms on January 27, 2021. Overall, stories like these are important because they show how state officials, lawmakers, and policymakers have made little strides in reducing and slowing down the spread of the coronavirus in state and national prison systems. People like my mother, who works at FCI Edgefield, have preexisting medical conditions that put them at a heightened risk for complications if they were to catch COVID-19. Thus, we should make aware that these state officials have waited too long to make strides towards reducing the prison population, routinely rotating staff, and increasing social distance measures in the jail populations. As the pandemic wears on, much is still needed to be done in prioritizing staff and prison populations for vaccination matters. While this idea has generated some wide societal debate, I find it hard to argue that people who work and live in correctional facilities are at a major disadvantage in this crisis. Therefore, it is only fair to consider these high-risk groups first when prioritizing phases and measures of the vaccines and health and well-being.
• 
  2020-06-25

  DVUSD Letter to Parents Announcing 2020 Graduation

  On May 1st, Dr. Curtis Finch, the Superintendent of Deer Valley Unified School District (one of the largest districts in Arizona), sent a letter as part of a daily update during the end of the 2019-2020 school year. Due to laws and regulations, there were many people unsure about whether the Class of 2020 would have a graduation ceremony. In this letter, Dr. Finch announced that an in-person ceremony would be held during the summer (July 2-3) due to a survey where the majority of parents indicated that they wanted an in-person ceremony. He stated a specific time for each high school and explained that additional information would be given each week, due to needing to plan exactly how the ceremony will work depending on guidance at the time. On June 25th, the graduation was canceled. This item shows the work and resilience that went into trying to give students and their families the milestones that they were hoping to experience. Many people, businesses, schools, and other organizations worked to find ways to safely host events. While some worked, this is an example of a plan that did not go through.
• 
  2020-06-25

  DVUSD Letter to Parents Regarding 2020 Graduation

  This letter is written by Dr. Curtis Finch, the Superintendent of Deer Valley Unified School District, one of the largest school districts in Arizona. The letter is addressed to the 2020 class of DVUSD high school graduates and their parents. Dr. Finch explains that graduation (which had already been postponed by a month) would need to be canceled due to new laws and policies. The letter ends with an encouraging note. This letter says multiple things about the pandemic. First, many people believed the situation would get better. This is shown by attempting to delay graduation by one month when in reality, the increasing cases due to the pandemic would continue much longer. Another message shown by the letter is that school staff, parents, and graduates were working to attempt to save milestones such as graduation in multiple different ways, but were not able to.
• 
  2022-03-20

  A Day In The Life

  Every day things that run through my head that have changed since the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic
• 2022-03-18

  Finding a lighthouse in the storm

  Living through the Covid-19 pandemic has been stressful for everyone for so many reasons. Personally, it has made me really anxious and I have felt like I don’t have as much control over my surroundings or life. I knew I had to find things to help me get through and cope with this feeling, things ranging from trivial to life-changing. Five things, in no particular order, that have helped me survive the pandemic are: 1. Video games 2. Podcasts 3. Grocery store drive up and go services 4. Drive-in movie theater 5. Gardening Video games have been a good brief escape from reality. The games have changed over the course of the pandemic. At first, I was really excited about Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Then it changed to Gris, after that it was Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and now I have been focused on Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Okay, yes I know, all of these expect Gris are made with a younger audience in mind. There is something so nice and simple about it though that as an adult I enjoy. A sense of childlike wonder that occurs while building a village, or fighting goofy-looking monsters, or catching and documenting creatures has been really refreshing and calming. Similar to the temporary “escape” from the news and reality has been listening to podcasts. I’ve been listening to fun ones and more serious ones. Not being able to see many people in person, it has provided a feeling of conversation, even if it is one-sided. I’ve learned and laughed a lot. I know grocery pick-up services have been around before Covid, but I only started utilizing it once Covid hit. I seriously cannot believe that it isn’t something that I used before. It seems like such a small, or silly, thing but it’s prevented me from buying random things and being more intentional about meal planning. This has been an improvement for my health and my wallet. I’ve learned to use coupons more effectively and different rewards apps, so being able to save even a small amount of money compared to before has been great. Especially due to inflation and rising food prices, and changing jobs several times over the last two years. I had gone to a (not so local) drive-in movie theater a couple of times pre-pandemic, but it has become one of my favorite things to do during Covid. Being able to have a feeling of normal activities while being able to be safe in my own little bubble of my car has been a great experience. The one I go to always does a double feature, and they have a great selection of food, snacks, a small arcade, and even go-carts. The best part? It’s only $7 per person! For reference, it’s $15.25 for one adult ticket to see one movie at my local chain theater. So even if my partner and I only stay to watch the first of the two movies, it’s still a way better deal. Plus the added ability to talk through the movie and not disturb others. The last thing that has been a help to get through everything has been gardening. I started during the summer of 2020 and have been growing things ever since. It has been really rewarding. I’ve been learning a lot about what grows well in my zone and what doesn’t, what I can actually use, and what I can’t. Fun tip: don’t plant six zucchini plants, you will have more than you know what to do with and have to start just leaving them on your family and friends' doorsteps. I know I will continue to find new things as the end of the storm of covid passes over us. I believe that sharing the happy moments that we do have during such a time of uncertainty and a mess of feelings, it can remind others either now or in the future, that some light did persist. These things are some of my lighthouses in the storm.
• 2022-03-17

  Working Through The Pandemic

  Going through the Covid-19 pandemic is truly a test of endurance and adaptability. Wearing masks, sanitizing everything, and social distancing with the hopes these efforts help slow or help communities manage the virus was always talked about and put into action in day to day life as the new normal. I wasn’t concerned at all about the virus as I am pretty germophobic normally, always trying to sanitize my hands and surfaces that I want to involve myself with because of past experiences with being sick. When I got sick, I got sick hard, and I wasn’t about to take a chance with Covid either. However, this became an increasingly daunting task after I started working at a small mom and pop health foods store in my small town of Hilo, Hawai’i. Our clientele consists of people who don’t exactly want to cooperate with government mandates or fully believe in pharmaceutical science. Trying to be understanding of people’s beliefs and wants is one thing, but trying to be professional in spite of the outrage toward the mandates and that outrage being directed toward crew for upholding those policies is another. For the past year and a half, I have been stretched pretty thin on towing the line between being understanding and accommodating for customers and crew while also trying to maintain my own personal responsibilities and upholding local government restrictions. It is not easy to constantly hear complaints, belligerency, or contrasting opinions on the subject constantly with the added caveat of the building being an extremely small space. My solace that kept me going is the hope that this will be over at some point and not a new permanent reality. Until recently, we only had a limit of twelve (excluding crew members) allowed within the store at any given time. I was relieved when Gov. David Ige finally announced lifting restrictions and mandates on March 25th, as with high hopes we can all return to some semblance of normalcy before the new normal hit hard. The thing I look forward to the most? People not being upset at the mandatory mask policy, and crew not constantly voicing their opinions about
• 2022-01-16

  Still On Spring Break?

  As a teacher and a parent, navigating the tricky educational waters after COVID-19 in 2020 has proven challenging. Many of my teacher friends left the profession due to unsafe working conditions and the emotional distress resulting from unsupportive school districts, irrational demands from parents, and severe behavioral issues exhibited by students coping in their own ways. In March 2020, we went on Spring Break, and some of us never came back, some literally and others emotionally. Teachers that are still teaching – whether online or in person – are now contending with the aftermath of school closures and the intense pressure put on them to return despite concerns about safety. Teacher burnout has hit hard, and there are even some days I have to remind myself why I became a teacher. I know students are dealing with their own transition back into some kind of normalcy. My own daughters exhibit an anxiety that’s hard to miss – and something I can relate to, and I’m devastated that they missed out on junior prom and an in-person 8th grade graduation. The little milestones and memory-makers that they’ll one day look back on as adults have been replaced by a year of quarantine, Zoom classes, and missing their friends. Many of my students have also expressed sadness and frustrating having missed some of the hallmarks of “the high school experience”. Likewise, teachers missed milestones and cultivating relationships with their students. There’s still a lot of ground to make up on both sides.
• 
  2022-03-01

  Military Mask Guidance Update

  The attached is a memorandum for record from the Under Secretary of Defense. This memo was published 1 March 2022 and was a big deal for us in the military and really everyone who works on military installations or in other Department of Defense facilities. Prior to this memo, we were all required to wear face coverings at all times when in doors, regardless of local state or county guidance. This memo was a great policy move as it changed the requirement from an overarching blanket policy to instead replicate local community guidance. I can tell you, we were very relieved to not be required to wear a face covering at all times. unlike many other sectors across the US, many military members did not have the opportunity to work from home during the pandemic. This is just due to the nature of our jobs, therefore we were masked up for a long time, even in places such as Texas and Florida where masks were no longer required according to local state and county guidance.
• 
  2022-03-11

  The Hanover County School Board, in partnering with an anti-LGBTQ outfit, has declared war on its transgender students.

  This news article is from the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Richmond, Virginia. The article contains a recent review of the Hanover Country School Board seeking legal advice from a well-known hate group that disguises themselves as "Christian conservative legal group" also known as the Alliance Defending Freedom. Back in December of 2021, the ACLU of Virginia filed against Hanover County for discriminatory policies against transgender students. The pandemic has bought out numerous laws against the safety of LGBTQ students and individuals. This is just a small example of what queer children have been facing since the start of the pandemic.
• 2020-02-01

  Ioana Juravlea's Experience

  I remember when I had just finished school on an early February day and I went to Whole Foods before going to work to buy some lunch. I was watching Tik TOks on how bad the disease was spreading in China and how they were building makeshift hospitals to handle it. As I waited to checkout I thought to myself and was hit with a rush of fear. I called my then boyfriend and asked him if we were being ignorant by trying to ignore what was happening. Shortly after that I watched another video with a deeper explanation and the person states, " These are the good times, everything is about to change for the worst." Although I was scared, I could not ever imagine how bad it would actually get.
• 
  2021-07-11

  Wild Ride at the Safari Park

  Over the past few years, the COVID pandemic has become a pretty lonely time for me living in Missouri, where I am originally from. I moved out to Arizona over five years ago and have not left. When the pandemic hit, my job moved to be online for a while, and therefore I made the trip to go back home and be with my family. We realized that we became increasingly stir-crazy through the pandemic by staying in the house all of the time. There was no more travel to the restaurants, shopping, and entertainment places. The past summer, with the pandemic on a decline, my family and extended members traveled to the Wild Animal Safari park. There was my Aunt Pat, my Niece, Morgan, my mother Robyn, and myself in the car as we traveled an hour away to enjoy the safari animals. The great thing about the excursion is that we did not have to get out of the car to remain safe during the pandemic. We received our animal food at the entrance and then proceeded through the park. It was one of the best times of the year because I am not sure I have laughed so hard in my life. I had no idea animals had that long tongues that they would stick in the car windows to get the food pellets. It was delightful seeing my niece squirm around in the car as she tried to get away from the animals. It was one of the best times during the pandemic, and I cannot recommend this excursion or something similar.
• 
  2022-02-25

  The Fall of Covid

  This flower represents the growth I have attained and hope. While the petals represent the things I felt like I lost during Covid. I think it is important for people to see how Covid affected everyone. This may open their eyes or give them something to relate to.
• 
  2022-02-25

  Russian invasion of Ukraine Ruins Everything

  I (and many others) am feeling like disasters just keep compounding one another since March 2020. I know a lot of folks around my were anticipating a “return to normal” this summer but it feels really difficult to just celebrate “normal life” when innocent Ukrainians are suffering and the whole world is watching.
• 
  2022-02-25

  Pandemic Rendition

  The pattern of small, blue, unorganized, squares reminded me of a hospital or a doctor’s office, the first place I would go when I am sick. During this time, it seemed as if everyone was sick, there were no appointments available to meet with a doctor nor beds for individuals who were experiencing peak Covid symptoms. Words that describe a hospital: white walls, clean floors, sterile rooms, and order, or at least it was before the pandemic. The background is far from orderly, red is also present amongst the blue squares. This is to represent our health care professionals doing their best with the knowledge we had about this novel virus, but still witnessing many deaths. There are also green rings hovering around the two individuals. Green is often connected with germs or sickness. In the beginning cleaning products were flying off the shelves, people wanted to clean all surfaces as a preventative measure. This meant that consumers were buying several jugs of bleach, rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, and many other products in surplus (creating many shortages). The air around the two individuals is filled with images of the Covid-19 virus under a microscope. Masks became a way to protect oneself from catching the virus, ultimately leading to mask mandates. The two individuals facing one another represent the mass separation we experienced during lockdown and with social distancing.
• 
  2022-02-25

  hermit HERALD, ISSUE 138

  Russia, more powerful than thought
• 
  2022-02-16

  Destruction of COVID signage/safety equipment

  This email chain documents a series of incidents in my workplace where an anonymous individual has engaged in acts of vandalism against COVID safety signage.
• 2021-10

  The Division of Covid-19

  Since the pandemic started life has definitely changed in plenty of ways, not just for me but for everyone. From the way we learn in school and work jobs to the way we interact in public and meet people. One thing covid brought that I saw prevalent in a few different aspects of my life was a new reason for division amongst people. This new reason for division is almost a political thing, where there are people that are nervous and scared that covid is harmful and then the people who do not care and believe covid is blown out of proportion. I see this division in things like media, politics, family, and friends. It makes a lot of things confusing for me because I never know which side to listen to. The crazy thing to see for me is how a pandemic can come around and cause so much separation. At a point it started to seem like it was the only thing I heard people talking about and it would drive me crazy. If I put on the news, it was always someone saying everyone needs masks, then I flip the channel and the next station is saying mask are bad and should not be on all day. Then it came to my family, my dad would tell me I needed all the vaccines and booster but my mom on the other hand told me to do whatever I wanted and did not care. Seeing all of this back a fourth throughout this time would frustrate me because it made making my mind up so difficult. This eventually even got to my friends, and I saw friends that would argue about whether people should get the booster or not, and I thought it was so ridiculous. The reason I bring up this point of division is because I believe it is interesting how everyone has reacted to covid. I also feel like it has made people feel the need to push their opinions and ideas onto other people, it is something I have seen first-hand in my life. Similar to the way Hitler or Stalin pushed their ideas on everyone, but on a very different level. Maybe one day people will just let each other choose for themselves.
• 
  2021-09-13

  Mental Health in the Eyes of a Pandemic

  For years, I believed there was something wrong with me that wasn’t similar to anyone else. This “something” wasn’t easy to figure out. The pandemic consisted of trends, exercise, masks, and heavy cleaning. In high school, girls consistently made fun of me for my body, weight, and the way I looked. The bullying wouldn’t stop- I was fifteen. My mom took everything to the police. Things were dealt with. Things were okay, until they weren’t. On April 5th, 2020, while doing a heavy clean of some junk drawers, I found the red folder of printed screenshots. Sorrow began to creep up my spine as I began to cry. I couldn’t understand why people ever thought this was okay. I stopped eating. How does this happen? By choice? No, not really. By coincidence? Not that either. I kept my eating disorder hidden. I never told the doctors, friends, employers, and most regretfully, I hid it from my family. Beginning from April 5th, 2020, to approximately September of 2021, I was not okay. Within the duration of starving myself out, burning 800 calories a day at the gym, making myself throw up after every time I ate, and weighing myself four times a day, I didn’t see anything wrong with my lifestyle. It was June 11th, 2021, when I was at the doctor’s office. She asks, “Do you have any questions or concerns?” I didn’t. Well, I did. Words of anger went in and throughout my brain. I had been battling an eating disorder for well over a year and I wasn’t ready to admit it. I was always the perfect, angelic, do-no-wrong child in my family- I couldn’t let them know about this but, I also couldn’t stand to hate myself for another day. It came out… “I think I have an eating disorder”, I said as tears ran down my face. For the next few months, I was monitored. It was the hardest battle I’ve had to face. I came face to face with my parents and explained everything. They sobbed as they couldn’t understand why their first-born child refused to understand how beautiful she is. My heart shattered into a million pieces. Soon after that doctor’s appointment, I was on the road to recovery. Many people hate covid because they felt robbed of love, opportunity, and most importantly, time. If anything, Covid-19 saved my life. I finally ridded of those demon in which lived inside my precious thoughts. There’s no more “I look fat” or “I can’t eat that”. This wasn’t something that was wrong with just me- it affects millions. Covid taught me that there is no room for negativity in this world. Time moves too fast. The presence of eating disorders during the pandemic can help historians understand the impact of cyberbullying, food scarcity due to supply chain issues, etc. I don’t believe that researchers realize how many adults and children were affected by mental illness due to persistent lockdowns, isolation periods, restricted visitation, and new introductions to a virtual society. My experience offers intel to how mental and physical illnesses were underestimated throughout the entirety of the pandemic. Whether it be an eating disorder or a cancer patient, it’s difficult to watch because it seems like covid-19 patients are prioritized everywhere even if they choose not to be vaccinated. It’s a hard thing to watch in terms of priority because cancer patients, heart disease patients, etc. have less room in hospitals because people choose to not be vaccinated. With that being said, being vaccinated has no 100% guarantee of not being hospitalized but it lowers the rates substantially.
• 2020-03-06

  Liberated Seas

  I was working as a deck hand on a ship in the South Pacific at the threshold of the global pandemic lockdown. There are myriad sensations a sailor knows on any given day: the varying strength, temperature, and sound of the wind or the feel of the sun or its absence. Yet what struck me that day was an absence of the usual boat traffic and the distinctive sounds of powerful breaths punctuating the rush of sea on the hull. In the relative unusual scarcity of ships to threaten them with injuring or fatal collisions, migrating whales had gathered on the surface in unusual numbers. The usual dull roar of the maritime roar had been replaced by throaty deep breaths. The puffing sound of them exhaling in choir as they rose from the azure depths surrounded us, as the captain ordered for the ship to slow and halt. A pod rested on the waves, surrounding us. One can project human attributes on animals, but the whales are sentient beings and their breaths did sound like sighs of relief in the absence of any ships besides ours. The captain cursed at the delay but artificial sense of time of course was a human construct that seemed so dwarfed then by those giant breaths, a reminder of the primal rhythms of the sea and that we were ultimately an invasive species humbled by a virus and the natural power of the ocean.
• 
  2020-06-25

  In-Processing Day for the Class of 2024 at the United States Air Force Academy

  Imagine yourself going into your senior year of college... but at a service academy while COVID-19 has sunken its teeth into every aspect of our lives. While most colleges and universities around the globe pushed back the start dates of their fall semesters in 2020 or moved entirely online, Service academies in the U.S. needed to meet congress' demand of supplying a steady stream of future commissioned lieutenants to the military. As a result, I found myself at 23 years old as a flight commander of 30 young, recent high school graduates who needed the same level of indoctrination I received into the Air Force four years prior. Rather than videos of years past with cadet cadre in the faces of soon-to-be freshmen screaming at the top of their lungs, this video provides the innocuous version of in-processing with unedited or dubbed audio. You might even see a few of my basics who didn't know what to expect of basic training during the pandemic. While the cadre in the film stand professionally and talk with a sense of authority towards the basics, I can tell you behind the scenes we were re-writing COVID-19 protocol and adjusting their syllabi as each day passed. Your authority as a military instructor weakens as its filtered through a wet, uncomfortable cloth mask (I strongly encourage you to look up "I-Day" videos of USAFA prior to the pandemic to compare). Can you imagine how much you have to yell through one of those masks to get 30 individuals to hear you over the other 39 flights sprinkled across the campus drill pads? My 6 weeks as a flight commander were filled with frustration, sympathy, reward, and most of all focus. First, focusing visually, I had to maintain social distancing anywhere from when basics were wrapped around the hallways to wait to shower all the way to when they practiced marching non-military standard "double-arm interval" for their basic training graduation day. Also, focusing through sound, I had to understand my basics through sweat or dirt covered masks as they recited knowledge, asked questions during academic blocks, or were struggling and needed follow-up mentoring. The measurable distance between trainers and trainees as well as the pauses of silence, normally filled with a constant cacophony of yelling, are what many graduates of my alma mater would call weak. Despite a lack of intensity, masks added a layer of confusion and frustration during a period that is already filled with fear, stress, and exhaustion for basics. For that reason, I want to ask those who weren't there to understand sensually why the class of 2024 still went through the same basic training experience as years past. Maybe a second listen to the audio can even reveal those same frustrations and fears from the basics reflected in the tone of their cadre.
• 2021-02-16

  A Journey for the Jab

  With the start of 2021, I was excited for the prospect of the vaccines that were starting to get rolled out. I knew at the beginning that I would be one of the firsts to get it because I was a teacher in Texas, where we had only had 3 weeks of online school, and the rest of the year had been in person. That high risk meant that by the end of January, the first week teachers were allowed to get the first shot, I signed up at the nearest hospital who had the Pfizer vaccine. The first one went without a hitch, with barely some soreness in my arm in the week following. It is the second shot that was a bit derailed. The week I was supposed to get my second shot, Texas was hit by one of the worst snow storms we have ever faced, and millions lost power. My apartment had rolling black outs the first day, and my apartment became colder and colder. My partner and I initially thought to stick it out, piling cover after cover of blankets and huddling close for warmth. Then, at 6PM that night, the power went out and never came back and we were driven into darkness and the cold seeped into our bones. We made the decision to suffer the cold, icy roads, and the long journey to my partner’s parents’ house, which had not lost power. We packed up the food in coolers, feeling for what may have spoiled during the blackouts, and feeling for what remained cold and frozen. We shoved as much as would fit and headed out. The drive is normally only 35 minutes, but with no snow tires and ice everywhere, we could not travel more than 30 miles an hour. As we reversed out of our spot, you could immediately feel the tires lose their traction and hear them spin loosely over the ice that had gathered under the truck. As we began our journey, the heater finally began blasting our faces with air that slowly began to warm up, and started the long process of thawing our frozen limbs. Two hours on this slow trek, constantly worried about sections of black ice, and losing control of tires, both ours and others, but we finally made it to their home. The first thing we noticed when we entered through their door was the strong smells of hot chocolate being prepared on the stove. The next day, when my appointment was set for the second dose of the vaccine, I called and asked if they were still giving the vaccine or if I should reschedule, and was told that I would lose my spot if I rescheduled because they only had so many doses at this time and did not want to have any go to waste. My partner’s parents decided to drive all of us to the hospital. Several times on this trip, we heard the squeal and slam of cars losing control of their cars and careening into one another. We all held our breaths at each close encounter, and did not realize until we reached the hospital how we had all clenched our bodies in tension. It was not until we pulled into the parking garage that I heard all of us let out a collective sigh of relief. I went in for my second shot as the family stayed on the first floor, waiting out of the cold but away from the mass of bodies huddling to be let into the hospital. Inside, I quickly walked down the hall, not wanting to make my partner and his family have to wait too long for me, and I was gently guided through the path by the volunteer staff. Because of the cold, I had worn three long sleeve layers, and found after much stretching that it was not possible for the nurse to get at my arm to receive the shot. Feeling the burn on my cheeks in embarrassment, as I had to publicly remove the top to layers, and pull my bottom shirt over my head. The cold of the room chilled my body, and I had to stop myself from shivering. With the second shot complete, and as I headed to the room to wait the required 20 minutes to make sure I did not have any immediate reaction to the shot, I was stopped dead in my tracks when I saw my partner and his family being ushered into the room. My partner was not yet eligible for the shot, and we both had had arguments with his parents about the shots, since they didn’t believe in needing them. I later found out that a nurse had been looking in the hospital lobby for anyone who hadn’t had their shots to come up because they had 5 extra shots that would be expiring if no one received them soon. Somehow, my partner in that split moment where they were being given this golden opportunity, shouted yes for all of them, and began shoving his parents down to the room before they could protest. Once we had all piled back into the truck after all four of us received our shots, we went home as quickly as we safely could. Though I had had no reaction to the first shot, this second dose threw me for a loop. That night, the chills began. Even as the house had its heat blasting on full, and I was sitting as close to the fireplace as I could safely sit, my teeth could be heard chattering across the living room. My head began pounding, and I fell into a deep sleep an hour later. Thankfully, the cold was gone from my body when I awoke the next morning, and two days later, the snow had melted enough, and our power was restored to return home. The pandemic has induced so much fear and anxiety in all of us over these last two years, have really made me so much more aware of those around me, but for me, when I think about the vaccines, and the reluctance of those who can receive them but don’t, I think about the treacherous journey I was forced to make to get mine. I think about the cold. I think about the squealing tires. I think about how terrible I felt after my second dose. And I also think about the relief at knowing that all of this awfulness led to my partner’s parents suddenly getting vaccinated. For that alone, I would experience the fear of the snowstorm once again.
• 2020-04

  How Stuffed Peppers Kept Me From Killing My Roommates

  In March of 2020, I had just turned 22. I was prepping to graduate from Loyola University Chicago and searching for a job in journalism — a notoriously tough field to start out in, pandemic or not. The virus started spreading, and the jobs started disappearing. Chicago, my once-vibrant home where people scattered like ants as the CTA trains screeched into the station, was deserted. It was eerie. The internet was swarming with newly viral recipes: banana bread, sourdough starters, homemade pizzas. I wasn't interested in those, they didn't strike my fancy. In a time of severe isolation for most, I was stuck with roommates. Don't get me wrong, we had our issues. The dishes were almost never done, and we disagreed on whose responsibility they were. But in my boredom, I took up cooking, and for once I didn't mind cooking for them as well. I was one of many COVID-induced chefs who began as amateurs and blossomed into connoisseurs that rivaled the best of takeout menus. The only problem was, I'm a vegetarian, and my roommates are born-and-bred Midwesterners, set in their ways of eating and enjoying meat at nearly every meal. But by April, I had sprung head-first into a phase of cooking stuffed peppers several times a week, and they had followed me down the rabbit hole. There were no disagreements about whether to put meat in the filling or not — we didn't need it, there was enough flavor and protein regardless. And the dishes were always done, somehow without a single argument or passive-aggressive slam of a door. The peppers were fun and colorful, Instagram-worthy in a time that lacked almost anything visually intriguing. They became a source of collaboration instead of the division that had seeped in through our 100-year-old Chicago apartment's walls, a result of being trapped with no one but each other for weeks on end. It's superstitious, maybe, but I think these peppers may have saved us from severing our relationship forever. We mended our fracturing friendships and became a family once again, eating dinner together and making sure the kitchen was clean.
• 
  2022-02-01

  hermit HERALD, ISSUE 137

  Putin vs NATO
• 2021-04-08

  Cocomelon or Blippi

  In the early stages of COVID, I was in Utah finishing up my Bachelor’s. Finally, after reuniting with my sister’s family in Washington, not only did I have a hard time adjusting to the noise, I had to deal with the 24/7 nonstop routine of my nieces and nephews watching either Cocomelon or Blippi. We can’t even have a movie night because the kids will end up crying to change the movie to Cocomelon or Blippi. Night and Day, my nieces and nephews would be singing to the nursery rhymes on Cocomelon or the opening song of Blippi. Although there were times when I would get annoyed or frustrated watching the same thing on the television, I am grateful for these moments. After spending many years on my own, I am thankful and blessed to be with my family during these times. In the end, it became a routine for me and my nieces and nephews to watch Cocomelon or Blippi in the evening. Not only do I get to see their sweet smiles, but I also get to hear their cute little chuckles and laughter while singing “The Wheels On The Bus” or spelling Blippi’s name. The noise that I once had a hard time adjusting to and the overbearing sound of the nursery rhymes from cocomelon or blippi's name did not matter as their sweet laughs and chuckles filled the house every evening making COVID quarantine bearable.
• 
  2022-01-16

  hermit HERALD, ISSUE 136

  U.S. taking a knife to a gunfight
• 
  04/25/2021

  Lou Fraise Oral History, 2021/04/25

  Dr. Lewis Fraise details his service as a geriatric doctor during the Korean War and Vietnam War. He mentions his service in both Washington D.C. and Korea and continues to break down how the Coronavirus actually infects one's body and the response of the government as the pandemic ensued. Dr. Fraise criticizes the actions of Donald Trump and states that the spread of more medically-accurate information would have led to a better outcome in terms of the early stages of the pandemic.
• 
  12/08/2020

  Jackie Weber Oral History, 2020/12/08

  Jackie Weber was born in West Bend, Wisconsin. She now lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and works as an occupational therapist in one of the major Milwaukee hospital systems. In this interview she dives deep into the affect that Covid-19 has had on her workplace such as staffing issues, equipment shortages, and burnout. She also talks about the emotional weight of working in such a stressful situation and not being able to help people in the same ways as pre-pandemic. She also speaks on the ways in which hospitals are changing how they treat Covid and often cites an ever-changing set of policies. Throughout the interview she intertwines her views on policy proposals, and anti-maskers into her strong points about safety.
• 
  2021-12-16

  Asian Lives Matter

  When I went to summer camp, I spoke Chinese to my friends who could not speak english very well. However, we were constantly told that "this is America" and we needed to speak english so everyone could understand and didn't feel left out.
• 2021-12

  How My Life Has Changed

  My life feels weird. I feel like everything almost moved too fast, but not fast enough. I think due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we all have a weird feeling of how time works. It seems almost as if the days pass by faster than I can imagine, let alone each month. I blink and the semester is practically at a close. My life feels busy. My days are consumed with school work and nannying, as almost every week feels the same. I try to incorporate different aspects of my daily life into each day to have a feeling of change, yet also normalcy. I personally have faced academic and personal challenges. I feel as though I do not have the same energy I did when in the classroom. I felt like I have lost my passion for learning, as it almost feels more forced than it did before. To do all your work through a computer screen is not easy, let alone to do it for years on end. Personally, I have had a hard time with a lack of communication with family and friends. Some of my peers and I discussed the difficulty with just talking to people now! It just feels so strange. The sudden change to college was weird. I started off at a University and hated it. I think due to COVID, I had a hard time picking out what I needed in a school, as I also didn't know how the upcoming school year would look with the pandemic. I feel as though I have adapted, but I wish things could go back to the way they were. Nothing feels the same anymore and I feel as if my life is slipping through my fingers. Therefore, I try to embrace the time I do have, even though we are still living through the midst of a pandemic.
• 
  2021-12-01

  Take One Please!

  This pandemic has been an eye-opening experience as to how reactionary humans are during times of need. Variations of this sign have been placed around my university’s campus in the hopes that people will stop taking handfuls of masks and will only take one (i.e., what is needed). It is odd how this theme of greed has echoed throughout the last two years. The same people preaching to “be a decent human being during unprecedented times” will hoard basic necessities and stockpile their garage with hand sanitizer and paper towels. It is unfortunate that pandemics can sometimes bring out the worst people. Hopefully, 2022 will be different.
• 
  2021-12-05

  Five Pandemic 2021 Edition by Sebastian Delgado, dps

• 
  2020-03-31

  I hate this so much

  On March 31st 2020, my state governor, J.B. Pritzker announced that school would be out of session till the 30th of April. I was a senior in high school, and hearing that broke my heart as the last day of school for the seniors was May 8th 2020. The biggest year of most young adults lives is their senior year of high school, as it signifies their last moments of childhood before embracing adulthood. I was in my mother's bedroom sitting on her bed with my sister watching the live newscast. My sister was a freshman in college at the time and about two weeks before had to clear out her dorm room and bring it all home shortly after her Spring Break had ended. She didn't have a particular reaction to it, not that I can remember. After the governor stated that school was out for another month, I began to cry. My mother cried for me, as she knew how much I had been looking forward to my senior year, and graduation, and prom. While I was crying and watching the newscast continue on, I took a photo of myself on Snapchat, and typed out "I hate this so much". I did hate it, because there was nothing I could have done about it, and I was being robbed of a particularly precious moment in my life. Many seniors in the class of 2020, both high school and college, were robbed of what they deserved that year. I'm submitting this because this is one of many real reactions students in my age group had, and it is important to me since I am currently in college to become a history teacher. I'm living through a historic time that I will be teaching my future students about, and I will use the photos and videos I took as primary sources for it.
• 
  2021-12-10

  COVID-19 Interview (Global Pandemics) (One semester later)

  A discussion with a peer about what we have learned about the COVID-19 pandemic through learning about other pandemics.
• 
  2021-05-24

  A Glimpse of Masked Goodbyes

  Ever since I was a kid, I waited for the day I would get to walk across the stage inside a huge stadium to receive my diploma, with my family and friends watching. That day did not turn out quite as expected. My senior year began in August of 2020, during the height of COVID. No one knew when or if we would be going back to school in person. We lost football games, homecoming, the senior trip, and almost two semesters of getting to spend time in class with friends. We missed out on finally being a senior. All we could hope for was to be able to have more than a drive-thru graduation. Our class was lucky enough to be able to go back to school for a few months and we got to have an in-person graduation on the football field. Even though there were only just under 200 students per day over the course of our 4-day graduation ceremonies, it was definitely an experience I will never forget. I was grateful that I got to walk across that stage with my family watching. I was grateful that I got to watch my friends who I have known for years, and with who I began this journey, get their diplomas as well. This photo encapsulates the moment that we had officially graduated. As we went in for a masked-up embrace, I thought about so much I had to go through to get to that moment. All of the highs, lows, long nights up studying, fun school events, losing friends who were near and dear to my heart, and making it through what is supposed to be the best year of high school during a worldwide pandemic. It was a bittersweet moment, marking the end of one journey, but the start of the next. I do not know what the future holds, but I hope to never have to experience more masked goodbyes.
• 2021-12-04

  Grief and Loss in a Pandemic

  Most consider dying during the pandemic the end of the story, but for my family and myself, the death of my sister was the undoing of our culture. On March 13, 2021, just over a year since Covid-19 was declared a pandemic, my younger sister took her own life after a life-long battle with epilepsy, anxiety, depression, and PTSD. She was the youngest of my five siblings, aunt to fourteen nieces and nephews, and mother to two sons. My entire family, with the exception of one sister, all live within minutes of one another. Although we were raised as a close-knit family, disagreements had developed, resentments grew, and we all allowed “social distancing” to justify our lack of contact and communication for almost the entire year. And just like the rest of the nation, our family was divided by political and pandemic beliefs. As I mentioned above, my sister overcame her relentless struggles every day for almost forty years and on March 13, 2021, she lost that battle. Since that day, we have all theorized how the isolation brought on by the pandemic must have played a major role. However, we are only left with assumptions as she didn’t leave a note. What I do know for certain, is my family and I had no idea how to grieve during the pandemic. Social distancing, occupancy restrictions, stay-at-home orders and mask mandates challenged every aspect of how our Hispanic culture grieves. After an entire year of living in isolation, coming together as family, came with conflicted feelings of cultural proclivity and the health of our loved ones. As my family rushed to my parents’ home upon hearing the tragic news, there was a twinge of apprehension as we sought comfort one another’s arms. By midafternoon, their home was overcome with family overwhelmed with anguish, while instinctively gauging six feet distance. While notifying friends and family, tears and words of comfort gave way to requests to leave a note at the makeshift shrine in the front yard in lieu coming inside. Making arrangements meant we had to settle for any location willing to allow all forty of us at the memorial. Non-family members would only be allowed to walk through to say their last good-bye, once the family left the building to not exceed occupation restrictions. The cemetery would only allow fifteen people at the gravesite, not the dozens of friends and family who wanted to share their condolences. My mom, still reeling with loss, wanted to include those she loved and who loved my sister and chose a plot next to the street so the other family members could stand off the property while my sister was laid to rest. Following the burial, instead of opening our home and coming together to celebrate her life, we selected a secret location that wouldn’t be known to non-family members. Nine months later, despite continued cases and deaths, Covid restrictions have lessened and most people have resumed their lives as they were pre-Covid. For my family and I, losing my sister still feels unreal. I saw her in her final resting place, but grieving in my culture looks and feels so different than what I experienced. We find comfort and healing in community and in each other’s arms. We open our home to friends and family and welcome their offerings of condolences. We come together to share food, memories, and loss and we find healing. The pandemic unraveled all we knew about how to deal with loss, and the grief remains in isolation, unable to transition into acceptance.
• 
  04/25/2021

  Tamara Harris Oral History, 2021/04/25

  Tamara Harris was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and raised in Black River Falls, Wisconsin and is now a retired teacher of the Chippewa Falls Middle School living in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. In this interview, Tamara describes how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected her daily life, relationships with long-distance family, and participation with the community. Tamara also describes how attitudes have changed during the pandemic and how she has dealt with these changes. Tamara has 7 adult children, 9 grandchildren, as well as many other family members spread throughout the Midwest.